Procedure: Step 1 - Draw out image on the watercolor paper. I intentionally minimized details from the scene to focus on the larger shapes and colors. I worked from a photo, which I altered digitally with Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 software to explore various compositions and color schemes. Step 2 - I moistened the entire surface with clean water. While the paper was still very wet, I applied the paint, working from the bottom to the top. I applied several strokes of the Transparent Yellow paint to the bottom one-third of the scene; Permanent Rose to the mid-section; Cobalt Blue to the top one-third. I sprayed on a bit more water with a spray bottle and then tipped the painting in different directions to allow the colors to run together. Since I did not want to create a distinct green in the painting, especially in the sky area, I was careful to avoid running yellow paint directly into the blue paint. Putting the rose color in the middle helped prevent this from happening. Step 3 - When the paint from the prior step was completely dry, I applied the liquid adhesive over the entire sky area, including the portions that peek below the tent awning on the right and the narrow horizontal area in the middle of the building on the left. I also covered the light foreground area with adhesive. I am conscious of the fact that when I later remove the adhesive, it will lighten the protected areas a little. To apply the adhesive, I used an old 1/4" flat brush. I first dampen the brush with water and then work a little bit of dishwashing soap into the bristles (to prevent the bristles from sticking together). I then dip the brush into the adhesive and apply it to the painting, carefully painting around the paddle wheel and building shapes. The adhesive will protect the areas that I don't want to darken any further. I allowed the adhesive to dry completely and then applied a second coat in the same manner. The second coat is to insure that the area is completely covered with adhesive. Step 4 - When the adhesive was completely dry, I wet the entire surface of the painting with clean water and applied more paint in the same sequence as in Step 2 above. I repeated this process until I was satisfied with the depth of the colors. When the paint was completely dry, I removed the adhesive. Adhesive can be removed with fingers or with a gummed eraser. Step 5 - Final touches and clean up. I used a brush dampened with clean water to pick up some of the paint in the building on the left to give the impression of support beams and to suggest other shapes within the building. Other final adjustments were made using the dry brush technique. I added a few strokes of thinned Cobalt Blue paint over the yellow in the foreground to suggest shadows. The painting is now done and ready to frame! |